Lucas hails Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's 'hunger'

Lucas Leiva says he is close to returning to the form that earned him the affection of Liverpool fans as a tenacious midfielder.

Having suffered a torrid time with injuries, the Seleção star is finally regaining full fitness after a year out of the game.

"I'm very close to where I was," the Brazilian said. "It has been a good three or four months since my last injury. There are still a few things to improve but I'm very close to where I want to be. Games that I'm playing will help me get back to the level that I was."

Lucas had plenty of praise however, for his captain who has overcome his own injury problems to continue leading Liverpool at the age of 32.

"I've been playing with him for six years already and every week we can see Stevie still has the hunger to win games and be the special player that he has always been for the club," said the midfielder.

"He's playing in a different position than he used to a few years ago and he's still able to change the game. I'm just very happy that we have him on the team - his leadership always makes our life easier."